Method, system, and device for protecting vehicle occupants

ABSTRACT

A system, method, and device for protecting a vehicle occupant over a computerized network. There is an electronic seat pad with an occupant sensor, a driver sensor control module that detects proximity a driver&#39;s portable electronic computing device relative to the vehicle; and a key-location sensor that detects proximity of a vehicle key to the vehicle. There is a system management module that determines alert statuses and sends alert and safety notifications to a remote notification device, which automatically registers an alert if a threshold level of safety notifications are not received. There may be pressure, temperature, signal strength, CO2, IR, and other sensors. There is a state library that may be updated to identify additional dangerous states based on sensor readings.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This invention claims priority, under 35 U.S.C. § 120, to the U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/419,533 by Susan Rogers filed on 9Nov. 2016, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to methods and systems of protectingliving beings, specifically methods and systems for protecting occupantsof vehicles.

Description of the Related Art

Infants bring great joy to families. However, with a new baby in thehome, parents or caretakers are often seriously sleep deprived due to aninfant's irregular feeding and sleeping schedules. There is alsoevidence that some post-partum chemical changes in women cause reducedmemory function. Further, long periods of sleep deprivation can have asignificant effect on a person's memory. This can make it difficult forcaregivers of infants to remember sometimes even very simple things.

Tragically, every year infants die or are seriously injured due to adriver forgetting that an infant is in the back seat of a car, andleaving the vehicle for a long period of time, such as while they areworking, shopping, etc. If the weather is either very hot or very cold,the infant can perish prior to anyone becoming aware of the dangeroussituation.

In the related art, it has been known to use timers, warning devices,and memory jogging tools to help parents remember things that they mightotherwise forget. Some of these are specifically adapted to help makesure that caregivers do not forget a child in a car, especially duringconditions where that might put the child in jeopardy. Some improvementshave been made in the field. Examples of references related to thepresent invention are described below in their own words, and thesupporting teachings of each reference are incorporated by referenceherein:

U.S. Pat. No. 7,218,218 issued to Rogers, discloses a child detectionsystem for a child seat includes a pressure sensor is adapted fordetecting when weight is positioned on the presser sensor. The pressuresensor is selectively positioned within a seat cushion of a restrainingseat. A primary processor is electrically coupled to the pressuresensor. The primary processor is adapted for is electrically coupled toa vehicle computer system of a vehicle in which is positioned therestraining seat. A sound emitter for emitting an audible sound isoperationally coupled to the primary processor. The primary processorturns on the sound emitter for at least 3 seconds when the pressuresensor senses a weight thereon and the vehicle computer systemdetermines that a driver's side door of the vehicle is open.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,348,880 issued to Hules et al., discloses a system andmethod are provided for alerting of an occupant endangered by beingsituated in a variable temperature setting. The system can be utilizedwithin a motor vehicle, and occupants include an infant, a child, aperson, and an animal or pet. In an aspect, when a security devicereceives a signal that an occupant sensor detects the presence of anoccupant and a temperature sensor detects a predetermined temperature,both within a predetermined time period, then a security response isinitiated. A security response can include triggering an audible alarm,flashing a light, lowering a window, unlocking a door, notifying anowner of the security device, and transmitting an emergency signal to anemergency system including telephone 911 and an emergency responsecompany. The occupant sensor and the temperature sensor may be affixedto a key fob such that an antenna transmits to the security device.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,058,983 issued to Davisson et al. discloses a baby seatoccupant detection system that functions to reliably remind forgetful ornegligent caregivers when they have an infant in a car seat inside avehicle and have left a predetermined proximity around the vehicle. Inone embodiment, the invention comprises a temperature detector fordetecting unsafe temperatures and sounding an alarm to alert a caregiverwhen the temperature inside a vehicle has risen to a level which isunsafe for the occupant left unattended in the vehicle.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No.: 2017/0158186 by Soifer,discloses a passive vehicular heatstroke prevention system monitorscarbon dioxide (CO2) and infrared (IR) energy levels to determinewhether a child is present inside a closed vehicle, and, if so, monitorsthe temperature in the vehicle and, if the temperature in the vehicleexceeds at least one preset critical value, automatically lowers thetemperature in the vehicle and contacts the driver/caregiver and/oremergency personnel. The system detects the presence of a child in theclosed vehicle by detecting a critical level of carbon dioxide in theair within the vehicle, while monitoring the interior vehicletemperature and takes corrective action to prevent the temperature fromexceeding a preset value, such as by activating the vehicle's airconditioning unit and lowering the vehicle's windows, as well ascontacting the driver/caregiver and/or emergency personnel.

The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantageswhich include but are not limited to not being sufficiently safe,failing to provide safety in the event of failure of a caregiver torespond, being adapted to only prevent one type or class of dangeroussituation, failing to reduce worry (e.g. of the caregiver/parents),failing to provide for management by a third party expert system, notbeing adaptive, failing to provide an alert during an alert situationwhen communication is interrupted, being prone or subject to failure,and/or failing to track relevant data/devices/individuals/states.

What is needed is a method, system, and/or device that solves one ormore of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems thatmay come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becomingfamiliar with this specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in response to the presentstate of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems andneeds in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currentlyavailable methods, systems, and devices. Accordingly, the presentinvention has been developed to provide a method, system, and/or devicefor protecting vehicle occupants.

According to one embodiment of the invention, there is a system forprotecting a vehicle occupant over a computerized network, that mayinclude one or more of: an electronic seat pad that may include anoccupant sensor that may collects data related to the presence of anoccupant within the vehicle; a driver sensor control module that maycollect data related to the position of a driver's portable electroniccomputing device relative to the vehicle; a key-location sensor that maycollect data related to the position of a driver's keys relative to thevehicle; a first remote notification device that may receive alertstatus notifications and that may issue an alert if it receives an alertnotification and/or may issue an alert if it does not receive anexpected threshold of safety notifications; a communication system incommunication with one or more of the electronic seat pad, the driversensor control module, and the key-location sensor and/or that receivesand/or transmits collected data from each thereof; and/or a systemmanagement module that may operate on a computing device having aprocessor and/or network communication hardware that may be incommunication with the communication system over the computerizednetwork that may receive data collected from one or more of theelectronic seat pad, the driver sensor control module, and/or thekey-location sensor, which may include: instructions for determining analert status using the processor based on data collected from each ofthe electronic seat pad, the driver sensor control module, and thekey-location sensor; and/or instructions for sending alert notificationsand safety notifications to the first remote notification device overthe computerized network via the communication hardware based on thealert status. There may also be a state library in communication with alogic subscription module wherein updated alert conditions areautomatically provided over time such that the instructions fordetermining an alert status may change over time. There may also be asecond remote notification device and wherein the system managementmodule includes instructions for notifying the second remotenotification device if no response is received from the first remotenotification device in response to an alert notification.

It may be that the remote notification device is a smartphone thatincludes the driver sensor control module. It may be that the electronicseat pad further includes an electronically activated cooling device incommunication with the system management module. It may be that thekey-location sensor is housed within a key-fob to which keys areattached. It may be that the key-fob includes a microphone functionallycoupled to a speaker in the vehicle such that a user of the key-fob cansend a verbal message to an interior of the vehicle. It may be that thedriver sensor control module determines proximity to the vehicle bywhether or not a limited range wireless connection to an electronicdevice associated with the vehicle is active or not active. It may bethat the key-location sensor determines proximity to the vehicle bywhether or not a limited range wireless connection to an electronicdevice associated with the vehicle is active or not active. It may bethat the instructions for determining an alert status using theprocessor based on data collected from each of the electronic seat pad,the driver sensor control module, and the key-location sensor includeinstructions for generating an alert notification in each of thefollowing cases wherein the data infers that the:

-   -   a. occupant is present, the keys are not present, and the        driver's portable electronic device is not present;    -   b. occupant is present, the keys are present, and the driver's        portable electronic device is not present; and    -   c. occupant is present, the keys are not present, and the        driver's portable electronic device is present.

In another non-limiting embodiment, there may be a method of protectingan occupant of a vehicle using a computing system over a computerizednetwork, comprising one or more of the steps of: receiving occupancydata from an electronic seat pad present within the vehicle; receivingfirst proximity data from a driver sensor control module that detectswhether a portable electronic device of a driver of the vehicle ispresent with the vehicle or not; receiving second proximity data from akey-location sensor that detects whether keys of the vehicle are presentwith the vehicle or not; determining an alert status based on occupancydata, first proximity data, and second proximity data using a processorof the computing system; automatically transmitting an electronicmessage of the alert status to a first remote notification device, theelectronic message either including an alert notification or a safetynotification; automatically activating an alert message on the remotenotification device in response to an alert notification; and/orautomatically activating an alert message on the remote notificationdevice in response to a lack of safety notifications. Other steps mayinclude: automatically transmitting an electronic message of the alertstatus to a second remote device if no response is received from thefirst remote device; automatically activating an electronicallyactivated cooling device within the vehicle in response to either analert notification or a lack of safety notifications; updatinginstructions for determining an alert status based on custom alertstatus instructions customized for a location of the vehicle; updatinginstructions for determining an alert status based on custom alertstatus instructions customized for a demographic characteristic of adriver of the vehicle; updating instructions for determining an alertstatus based on custom alert status instructions customized for ademographic characteristic of the occupant; and/or automaticallytracking a last known location of the vehicle and automaticallytransmitting the last known location of the vehicle in association withan alert notification.

It may be that the step of determining an alert status using theprocessor based on data collected from each of the electronic seat pad,the driver sensor control module, and the key-location sensor is basedon instructions for generating an alert notification in each of thefollowing cases wherein the data infers that the:

-   -   a. occupant is present, the keys are not present, and the        driver's portable electronic device is not present;    -   b. occupant is present, the keys are present, and the driver's        portable electronic device is not present; and    -   c. occupant is present, the keys are not present, and the        driver's portable electronic device is present.

In yet another embodiment, there may be a device for protecting anoccupant of a vehicle, that may include one or more of: an occupantdetection sensor that detects the presence of an occupant; a keyproximity detection sensor that detects the proximity of a vehicle key;a communication device that communicates with a portable electronicdevice of a driver of the vehicle; an alert determination module thatdetermines if an alert status is present based on whether or not thereis an occupant present and whether either of the vehicle key or theportable electronic device of the driver of the vehicle are present;and/or an alert action device that automatically activates if an alertstatus is present.

It may be that the alert action device is selected from the group ofdevices consisting of: an electronically activated cooling device, andan alarm sounding device.

Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, orsimilar language does not imply that all of the features and advantagesthat may be realized with the present invention should be or are in anysingle embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to thefeatures and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature,advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodimentis included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus,discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language,throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to thesame embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics ofthe invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that theinvention can be practiced without one or more of the specific featuresor advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additionalfeatures and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments thatmay not be present in all embodiments of the invention.

These features and advantages of the present invention will become morefully apparent from the following description and appended claims, ormay be learned by the practice of the invention as set forthhereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order for the advantages of the invention to be readily understood, amore particular description of the invention briefly described abovewill be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that areillustrated in the appended drawing(s). It is noted that the drawings ofthe invention are not to scale. The drawings are mere schematicsrepresentations, not intended to portray specific parameters of theinvention. Understanding that these drawing(s) depict only typicalembodiments of the invention and are not, therefore, to be considered tobe limiting its scope, the invention will be described and explainedwith additional specificity and detail through the use of theaccompanying drawing(s), in which:

FIG. 1 is a network diagram of a system for protecting vehicleoccupants, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a module diagram of a system management module of a system forprotecting vehicle occupants, according to one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a module diagram of local units of a system for protectingvehicle occupants, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates local units of a system for protecting vehicleoccupants, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of a keychain fob, according toone embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of a seat pad, according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 7-10 together show a state logic diagram showing determination ofsafe/alert states, according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a state chart of a system for protecting occupants of avehicle, according to one embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram showing a method of protecting an occupant ofa vehicle, according to one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of theinvention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodimentsillustrated in the drawing(s), and specific language will be used todescribe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitationof the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations andfurther modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, andany additional applications of the principles of the invention asillustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant artand having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered withinthe scope of the invention.

Reference throughout this specification to an “embodiment,” an “example”or similar language means that a particular feature, structure,characteristic, or combinations thereof described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the presentinvention. Thus, appearances of the phrases an “embodiment,” an“example,” and similar language throughout this specification may, butdo not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment, to differentembodiments, or to one or more of the figures. Additionally, referenceto the wording “embodiment,” “example” or the like, for two or morefeatures, elements, etc. does not mean that the features are necessarilyrelated, dissimilar, the same, etc.

Each statement of an embodiment, or example, is to be consideredindependent of any other statement of an embodiment despite any use ofsimilar or identical language characterizing each embodiment. Therefore,where one embodiment is identified as “another embodiment,” theidentified embodiment is independent of any other embodimentscharacterized by the language “another embodiment.” The features,functions, and the like described herein are considered to be able to becombined in whole or in part one with another as the claims and/or artmay direct, either directly or indirectly, implicitly or explicitly.

As used herein, “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” “is,” “are,”“characterized by,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive oropen-ended terms that do not exclude additional unrecited elements ormethod steps. “Comprising” is to be interpreted as including the morerestrictive terms “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of.”

Many of the functional units described in this specification have beenlabeled as modules in order to more particularly emphasize theirimplementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented asa hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays,off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or otherdiscrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmablehardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmablearray logic, programmable logic devices or the like. Modules may also beimplemented in software for execution by various types of processors. Anidentified module of programmable or executable code may, for instance,comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructionswhich may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, orfunction.

Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module need not bephysically located together, but may comprise disparate instructionsstored in different locations which, when joined logically together,comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.Indeed, a module and/or a program of executable code may be a singleinstruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed overseveral different code segments, among different programs, and acrossseveral memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identifiedand illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in anysuitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure.The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may bedistributed over different locations including over different storagedevices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signalson a system or network.

The various system components and/or modules discussed herein mayinclude one or more of the following: a host server, motherboard,network, chipset or other computing system including a processor forprocessing digital data; a memory device coupled to a processor forstoring digital data; an input digitizer coupled to a processor forinputting digital data; an application program stored in a memory deviceand accessible by a processor for directing processing of digital databy the processor; a display device coupled to a processor and/or amemory device for displaying information derived from digital dataprocessed by the processor; and a plurality of databases includingmemory device(s) and/or hardware/software driven logical data storagestructure(s).

Various databases/memory devices described herein may include recordsassociated with one or more functions, purposes, intended beneficiaries,benefits and the like of one or more modules as described herein or asone of ordinary skill in the art would recognize as appropriate and/orlike data useful in the operation of the present invention.

As those skilled in the art will appreciate, any computers discussedherein may include an operating system, such as but not limited to:Android, iOS, BSD, IBM z/OS, Windows Phone, Windows CE, Palm OS, WindowsVista, NT, 95/98/2000, OS X, OS2; QNX, UNIX; GNU/Linux, Solaris; MacOS,and etc., as well as various conventional support software and driverstypically associated with computers. The computers may be in a home,industrial or business environment with access to a network. In anexemplary embodiment, access is through the Internet through acommercially-available web-browser software package, including but notlimited to Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari.

The present invention may be described herein in terms of functionalblock components, functions, options, screen shots, user interactions,optional selections, various processing steps, features, userinterfaces, and the like. Each of such described herein may be one ormore modules in exemplary embodiments of the invention even if notexpressly named herein as being a module. It should be appreciated thatsuch functional blocks and etc. may be realized by any number ofhardware and/or software components configured to perform the specifiedfunctions. For example, the present invention may employ variousintegrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, processingelements, logic elements, scripts, look-up tables, and the like, whichmay carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or moremicroprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the softwareelements of the present invention may be implemented with anyprogramming or scripting language such as but not limited to Eiffel,Haskell, C, C++, Java, Python, COBOL, Ruby, assembler, Groovy, PERL,Ada, Visual Basic, SQL Stored Procedures, AJAX, Bean Shell, andextensible markup language (XML), with the various algorithms beingimplemented with any combination of data structures, objects, processes,routines or other programming elements. Further, it should be noted thatthe present invention may employ any number of conventional techniquesfor data transmission, signaling, data processing, network control, andthe like. Still further, the invention may detect or prevent securityissues with a client-side scripting language, such as JavaScript,VBScript or the like.

Additionally, many of the functional units and/or modules herein aredescribed as being “in communication” with other functional units, thirdparty devices/systems and/or modules. Being “in communication” refers toany manner and/or way in which functional units and/or modules, such as,but not limited to, computers, networks, mobile devices, program blocks,chips, scripts, drivers, instruction sets, databases and other types ofhardware and/or software, may be in communication with each other. Somenon-limiting examples include communicating, sending, and/or receivingdata and metadata via: a wired network, a wireless network, sharedaccess databases, circuitry, phone lines, internet backbones,transponders, network cards, busses, satellite signals, electricsignals, electrical and magnetic fields and/or pulses, and/or so forth.

As used herein, the term “network” includes any electroniccommunications means which incorporates both hardware and softwarecomponents of such. Communication among the parties in accordance withthe present invention may be accomplished through any suitablecommunication channels, such as, for example, a telephone network, anextranet, an intranet, Internet, point of interaction device (point ofsale device, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, kiosk, etc.),online communications, off-line communications, wireless communications,transponder communications, local area network (LAN), wide area network(WAN), networked or linked devices and/or the like. Moreover, althoughthe invention may be implemented with TCP/IP communications protocols,the invention may also be implemented using other protocols, includingbut not limited to IPX, Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI or any number ofexisting or future protocols. If the network is in the nature of apublic network, such as the Internet, it may be advantageous to presumethe network to be insecure and open to eavesdroppers. Specificinformation related to the protocols, standards, and applicationsoftware utilized in connection with the Internet is generally known tothose skilled in the art and, as such, need not be detailed herein. See,for example, DILIP NAIK, INTERNET STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2COMPLETE, various authors, (Sybex 1999); DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY,MASTERING HTML 4.0 (1997); and LOSHIN, TCP/IP CLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997),the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIG. 1 is a network diagram of a system for protecting vehicleoccupants, according to one embodiment of the invention. There is showna network 100 in communication with each of a system control module 110and a plurality of local units 120. The illustrated system providesenhanced safety for occupants of vehicles, especially infants, children,and pets who might be inadvertently left in a vehicle during times whenheat/cold of the environment may pose a danger to said occupants. Thelocal units collect data regarding indicators of safety for the occupantof a vehicle and the system management module manages remotenotifications and analysis regarding whether there is a dangeroussituation for the occupant. The system management module may customizewhat constitutes an alert to geographic details (e.g. nanny drove thechild to a location identified within the system as being off-limits ordangerous, duration since last safety notification may be customized tothe expected connection capabilities of a particular area), and/or todemographic details related to the occupant or driver (e.g. temperatureor air condition thresholds may be different for animals compared topeople, older children may trigger an alert after being left alone for alonger period of time than infants). The illustrated system may beutilized to prevent children from dying in the car seat and to alert theparent or caregiver to get the child and/or to prevent other dangeroussituations to various types of occupants (e.g. elderly family members,people with specific health conditions, pets, and teenagers).

In one non-limiting embodiment, there is a seat pad, phone app, an alarmon a key fob, a fail-safe in the system on the cloud, each incommunication such that dangerous states may be detected and alerts maybe sent to the parent or caregiver to prevent them from forgetting theoccupant of the vehicle. There may also be a car door alarm device (e.g.magnet sensor mounted on the door and frame that thereby sense when thedoor is opened because of the changing magnetic field at the sensor) forthe door (or for two-doors) that will alert the parent or caregiver ifthe door of the vehicle is opened. This can prevent a child from dyingif they sneak into the car while the car is parked. There may also be asolar charger that can charge one or more of the devices describedherein through solar power.

In another non-limiting embodiment, there is an in-car seat system thatworks intelligently with a key-fob and a cloud server that workstogether to positively identify if there is a child in the car seatwithout the vehicle. Included in the system is a pad that may bedisposed in the seat or car seat with sensors to detect the presence ofan occupant (e.g. pressure sensors, CO2 sensors, IR sensors), the user'ssmartphone or other similar portable electronic device, an electronickey fob and a cloud-based management system. Those included portions areintegrated together.

In operation, there is a signal that goes from the cloud to the user'ssmartphone that says everything is fine (safety notification). If thereis no signal saying that the child is removed from the seat and the caris not moving and the parent is not in proximity to the child, thenthere is a signal that goes to the parent's phone and to the fob toalert them. If the parent does not respond, then there is an automatedprotocol for whom else to automatically notify via the system. The cloudalso keeps track of the last known location of the vehicle so thatpeople can respond quickly if there is an alert that a child is left inthe car.

According to still another embodiment of the invention, there is asystem for protecting a vehicle occupant over a computerized network,that may include one or more of: an electronic seat pad that may includean occupant sensor that may collects data related to the presence of anoccupant within the vehicle; a driver sensor control module that maycollect data related to the position of a driver's portable electroniccomputing device relative to the vehicle; a key-location sensor that maycollect data related to the position of a driver's keys relative to thevehicle; a first remote notification device that may receive alertstatus notifications and that may issue an alert if it receives an alertnotification and/or may issue an alert if it does not receive anexpected threshold of safety notifications; a communication system incommunication with one or more of the electronic seat pad, the driversensor control module, and the key-location sensor and/or that receivesand/or transmits collected data from each thereof; and/or a systemmanagement module that may operate on a computing device having aprocessor and/or network communication hardware that may be incommunication with the communication system over the computerizednetwork that may receive data collected from one or more of theelectronic seat pad, the driver sensor control module, and/or thekey-location sensor, which may include: instructions for determining analert status using the processor based on data collected from each ofthe electronic seat pad, the driver sensor control module, and thekey-location sensor; and/or instructions for sending alert notificationsand safety notifications to the first remote notification device overthe computerized network via the communication hardware based on thealert status. There may also be a state library in communication with alogic subscription module wherein updated alert conditions areautomatically provided over time such that the instructions fordetermining an alert status may change over time. There may also be asecond remote notification device and wherein the system managementmodule includes instructions for notifying the second remotenotification device if no response is received from the first remotenotification device in response to an alert notification.

It may be that the remote notification device is a smartphone thatincludes the driver sensor control module. It may be that the electronicseat pad further includes an electronically activated cooling device incommunication with the system management module. It may be that thekey-location sensor is housed within a key-fob to which keys areattached. It may be that the key-fob includes a microphone functionallycoupled to a speaker in the vehicle such that a user of the key-fob cansend a verbal message to an interior of the vehicle. It may be that thedriver sensor control module determines proximity to the vehicle bywhether or not a limited range wireless connection to an electronicdevice associated with the vehicle is active or not active. It may bethat the key-location sensor determines proximity to the vehicle bywhether or not a limited range wireless connection to an electronicdevice associated with the vehicle is active or not active. It may bethat the instructions for determining an alert status using theprocessor based on data collected from each of the electronic seat pad,the driver sensor control module, and the key-location sensor includeinstructions for generating an alert notification in each of thefollowing cases wherein the data infers that the:

-   -   a. occupant is present, the keys are not present, and the        driver's portable electronic device is not present;    -   b. occupant is present, the keys are present, and the driver's        portable electronic device is not present; and    -   c. occupant is present, the keys are not present, and the        driver's portable electronic device is present.

FIG. 2 is a module diagram of a system management module of a system forprotecting vehicle occupants, according to one embodiment of theinvention. The illustrated system management module 110 includes: anaccount module 210, a fail-safe module 220, a state library module 230,an AI module 240, a logic subscription module 250, a news subscriptionmodule 260, and a communication module 270. The illustrated systemmanagement module may operate on one or more servers and be connected toa network, such as but not limited to the internet, cellular networks,an intranet, a private network, and the like and combinations thereof.The illustrated system management module receives data collected fromone or more of the electronic seat pad, the driver sensor controlmodule, and/or the key-location sensor, which may include: instructionsfor determining an alert status using the processor based on datacollected from each of the electronic seat pad, the driver sensorcontrol module, and the key-location sensor; and/or instructions forsending alert notifications and safety notifications to the first remotenotification device over the computerized network via the communicationhardware based on the alert status.

The illustrated account module 210 includes instructions for managing aplurality of user accounts so that a plurality of local unit groups maybe coupled thereto and benefit from the same analytical and notificationfunctions of the system management module. The account module mayinclude a database of users, with records that include user information,system settings, default settings, automatic notification information,contact information, customized operational scripts, related media files(e.g. photos of children and pets). Account management software may beutilized and/or adapted within the account module to provide one or moreof these functions. Non-limiting examples of such are provided as:OneLogin User Identity Management Solution by OneLogin, Inc. of SanFrancisco, Calif.; and Pleasant Password Server of Pleasant SolutionsCheyenne Wyoming.

The illustrated fail-safe module 220 includes hardware and/or softwareencoded instructions for analyzing incoming sensor data and determiningalert status of the system, as well as triggering automaticnotifications of the alert status which the communication modulepublishes. There may be instructions for generating an alertnotification in each of the following cases wherein the data infers thatthe: occupant is present, the keys are not present, and the driver'sportable electronic device is not present; occupant is present, the keysare present, and the driver's portable electronic device is not present;and occupant is present, the keys are not present, and the driver'sportable electronic device is present. Instructions may be updated byand or located in the state library module 230 wherein the fail-safemodule can be continually improved to provide additional functionalityand continue to improve the safety of the occupant(s) even underchanging conditions/situations (e.g. as the infant progresses throughchildhood and adolescence). There may be one or more scripts and/orprogrammable logic that takes incoming sensor data and produces outputsthat are interpreted by the system as being “alert status.” Thefail-safe module may operate on a computing device, such as but notlimited to a server having a processor.

The illustrated state library module 230 is a library of state recordsthat may be updated to allow for additional state logic with which thefail-safe module may operate. Such may be stored on a database or otherdata structure within a data storage device of a computing device, suchas but not limited to a server. The library may be functionally coupledto a learning module and/or a subscription module (logic or news) suchthat new state records may be added to the database/data structure. Thestate records may be similar to those shown in FIGS. 7 (morecomplicated) and 8 (simpler) and may serve as the primary analysisengine of a fail-safe module. The library may be stored on one or moredata storage modules/devices. A data storage module/device may be incommunication with the modules and components of the system. The datastorage module stores data for one or more of the modules of the system.Data storage modules may be databases and/or data files and the memorystorage device may be, but is not limited to, hard drives, flash memory,optical discs, RAM, ROM, and/or tapes. A non-limiting example of a database is Filemaker Pro 11, manufactured by Filemaker Inc., 5261 PatrickHenry Dr., Santa Clara, Calif., 95054. Non-limiting examples of a datastorage module may include: a HP Storage Works P2000 G3 Modular SmartArray System, manufactured by Hewlett-Packard Company, 3000 HanoverStreet, Palo Alto, Calif., 94304, USA; or a Sony Pocket Bit USB FlashDrive, manufactured by Sony Corporation of America, 550 Madison Avenue,New York, N.Y., 10022.

The illustrated AI module 240 may provide artificial intelligence to thesystem such that the system may learn from incoming data from theplurality of local unit groups and/or from one or more subscriptions.The AI module may collect data regarding alert status, precedentialconditions, sensor data and other data received and may automaticallysort, analyze, and draw conclusions and make recommendations as toadditional state records for the state library, and/or ways to customizeone or more other modules for a particular local unit group and/orcollection thereof. AI software may be incorporated into the system byconnecting it to incoming data and feeding it resulting and/orconsequential data (e.g. feedback from users with respect to how thesystem works in specific instances) and then allowing the AI system todraw conclusions, analyze conditions, and/or suggest solutions. Theremay be a learning module within the AI module (e.g. coupled to a statelibrary with location based information that increases over time such asbut not limited to places where the system determines that you lose cellservice). Non-limiting examples of such AI software are: Hitachi AITechnology software/hardware provided by Hitachi, Ltd. of Tokyo Japanand IBM Watson of International Business Machines Corp. of Armonk N.Y.

The illustrated logic subscription module 250 allows a user to subscribeto ongoing improvements to the state library. The logic subscriptionmodule includes instructions for determining if one or more new (new tothe user) state library records are appropriate to add to the statelibrary used by the user account. Such may include one or more datafilters that filters out state library records that do not apply to aparticular user (e.g. a state library record that was generatedspecifically for locations with heavy snowfall may be filtered out for auser account having an address in Florida). There may be one or moresearching/query tools within the logic subscription module that allowfor a user to search for applicable state library logic records, such aswhen circumstances, characteristics or conditions change for a useraccount (e.g. they move, someone in the family contracts a particularcondition). There may be one or more scripts within the logicsubscription module that automatically add filtered logic records to thestate library of a user. Accordingly, the user may benefit from everincreased and improved safety for the occupants of their vehicle(s).

The illustrated news subscription module 260 may automatically providerelevant news/media/tips/guides items related to categories of interestto one or more users of the system. The module may filter through astream of news items for topics, words, categories, and/or subjectmatter listed as desired by the user. The user may thereby be providedwith such information, automatically, to their portable computing deviceand/or audio devices, where the news/etc. is audio-based. As anon-limiting example, the system may provide a stream of articles overtime of how to improve your memory to a user/driver/caregiver.

The illustrated communication module 270 includes one or morecommunication devices such as a network card, system bus, or wirelesscommunication module, and communicates with a computerized network. Thecommunication module provides communication capabilities, such aswireless communication, to the modules and components of the system andthe components and other modules described herein. The communicationmodule provides communication between a wireless device, such as amobile phone, and a computerized network and/or to facilitatecommunication between a mobile device and other modules describedherein. The communication module may have a component thereof that isresident on a user's mobile device or on a user's desktop computer.Non-limiting examples of a wireless communication module may be but notlimited to: a communication module described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,463,issued to Hyatt et al.; or a communication module described in U.S. Pat.No. 6,133,886, issued to Fariello et al., which are incorporated fortheir supported herein.

FIG. 3 is a module diagram of local units of a system for protectingvehicle occupants, according to one embodiment of the invention. Thereis shown a group of local units 120 including a seat pad 310, a key fob320, a smartphone application 330, additional sensors 340, a remotenotification device 350, and a communication system 360. The illustratedgroup of local units operates to provide information to the systemmanagement module for analysis and production of alert/safetynotification messages.

The illustrated seat pad (electronic seat pad) 310 provides a physicalobject that may be placed in the vehicle and includes communicationmodule(s) and one or more sensors for detecting the presence of avehicle occupant. As a seat pad, it may be placed in an infant car seatand may detect the presence of an infant in the car seat by using apressure sensor disposed thereon/therein such that when an infant issitting in the car seat, the pressure sensor detects an increasedpressure and when the infant is removed detects a decreased pressure.The seat pad may communicate sensor information over one or more wiredand/or wireless communication devices included with the seat pad, suchas but not limited to a Bluetooth, WiFi, of cellular device incommunication with a network, or simply a wired communication line intothe computerized network of the vehicle. In another embedment, the seatpad includes a CO2 sensor and uses readings of the same to determine thepresence or absence of a breathing occupant (e.g. child, pet) in thevehicle.

The illustrated key fob 320 couples to the keys or other ignition/entrytoken(s) for the vehicle and track the location of the same with respectto the vehicle. Accordingly, such provides an indicator as to whetherthe keys are proximate the vehicle or not. Where the keys leave thevicinity of the vehicle (which may be a predefined distance from thevehicle or may be calculated in another manner), the system is notified(e.g. by the key-fob itself or by another component of the system). Thisprovides an indicator that the driver may have left the vehicle. In onenon-limiting embodiment, the key-fob is coupled to a limited rangewireless network (e.g. Bluetooth) and so long as it is connected or solong as a signal strength is above a predefined threshold, the key-fobis considered by the system to be proximate the vehicle. If the signalstrength drops below the threshold or communication is lost, the systemregisters the key-fob as being not proximate the vehicle. The key-fobmay also include communication devices to produce audio messages (e.g.siren, warning sounds, speech) for the driver in response toalert/safety messages and/or to allow the driver to communicatewirelessly to a speaker/microphone that may be present in the vehicle.

The illustrated smartphone application 330 provides information to thesystem about the position of the smartphone on which it is residentrelative to the vehicle. This is a second indicator as to a location ofthe driver, which is useful as some drivers may leave, for variousreasons, their key-fob in the vehicle but walk off with a smartphone intheir pocket, or vice-versa. The smartphone application includes adriver sensor control module that collects data related to the positionof a driver's portable electronic computing device relative to thevehicle and also includes a communication module that allows thesmartphone to communicate with the system over one or more networks. Thesmartphone may also include instructions for analyzing and/or processingalert signals, alert statuses, and/or alert/safety messages. Thesmartphone application may also include communication utilities toproduce audio messages (e.g. siren, warning sounds, speech) for thedriver in response to alert/safety messages and/or to allow the driverto communicate wirelessly to a speaker/microphone that may be present inthe vehicle.

The illustrated additional sensors 340 may include one or more sensors,including but not limited to buckle sensors for determining if bucklesare fastened or not, door sensors to detect if a door is open or closed,ignition sensors to determine if the car is on/off or has started, heatsensors to determine temperature within the cabin of the vehicle, CO2sensors to determine relative concentrations of CO2 in the air, and/orother in-car sensors that come with the car. These sensors may bedisposed within the vehicle and/or on the electronic seat pad and may bein communication with the system such that the smartphone applicationand/or the system management module may receive data therefrom.

The illustrated remote notification device 350 may be one or moredevices, such as but not limited to the smartphone, the key-fob, adesktop computer, a tablet, and/or any other device functionally coupledto a network and able to produce notification messages.

The illustrated communication system 360 is generally distributed overthe plurality of local units (i.e. key fob(s), smartphone(s), seatpad(s), in-car sensor(s), remote notification device(s)) and includescommunication devices appropriate for each component. There may be aplurality of wired and/or wireless communication devices, such as butnot limited to network buses, wireless hotspots, Bluetooth communicationdevices, WiFi devices, cellular transponders, and the like andcombinations thereof.

FIG. 4 illustrates local units of a system for protecting vehicleoccupants, according to one embodiment of the invention. There is showna communication tower 410 (e.g. cellular network tower), a vehicle 420,a car seat 430 inside the vehicle with a seat pad 440 thereon, and adriver 450 having a portable computing device 460 and a key fob 470.

The illustrated communication tower 410 represents one or morecommunication devices dispersed over an area where the vehicle may bepresent, such as but not limited to WiFi hotspots, cellularcommunication towers, communication satellites, radio towers, and thelike and combinations thereof. Accordingly, the local units may be incommunication with one or more centralized system management moduleswhile driving in various locations.

The illustrated vehicle 420 includes a child safety seat (car seat) 430having an electronic seat pad 440 disposed thereon. The illustratedvehicle also includes the capacity for wireless communication over anetwork via the communication tower 410. The seat pad 440 also includescommunication capabilities with one or more of the vehicle 420, thecommunication tower 410, the key-fob 470, o the smartphone 460. The seatpad 440 collects data related to the presence of an occupant within thevehicle.

The illustrated driver 450 is holding a smartphone 460 and a key-fob 470to which keys are attached. The smartphone 460 and key-fob 470 eachinclude communication devices that allow for wireless communication oneor more other components of the system. The smartphone includes a driversensor control module that collects data related to the position of adriver's portable electronic computing device relative to the vehicleand may also be a first remote notification device that receives alertstatus notifications and that issues an alert if it receives an alertnotification and issues an alert if it does not receive an expectedthreshold of safety notifications. The key-fob 470 includes akey-location sensor that collects data related to the position of adriver's keys relative to the vehicle and may also be a first remotenotification device that receives alert status notifications and thatissues an alert if it receives an alert notification and issues an alertif it does not receive an expected threshold of safety notifications.The illustrated driver 450 is leaving the vicinity of the vehicle andonce a threshold distance/signal strength is reached, the system willregister the driver as being not proximate the vehicle.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of a keychain fob, according toone embodiment of the invention. There is shown an electronic key fob470 including a housing 550 which houses a communication button 510 thatoperates a communication module, a safe button 540, a not safe button560, a speaker 520, a microphone 570, and a ring 530 to couple to akeychain, set of keys, or ignition/entry token(s).

The illustrated communication button 510 is functionally coupled to awireless communication device (e.g. two-way radio, Bluetooth audiocommunication device, intercom) and thereby allows for the user toactivate a communication channel between the key-fob 470 and one or morecomponents of the system, including but not limited to the smartphone,the system management module, and/or the vehicle itself in order to haveone-way or two-way communication therewith. As a non-limiting example,the user could communicate thereby with someone inside the vehicle (e.g.to comfort a child).

The illustrated safe button 540 allows a user to send a safe signal tothe system control module and/or the smartphone application and may beused by the driver to override a false alert status. The safe button isfunctionally coupled to a hardware and/or software device thatautomatically generates and transmits a safe override signal. The safebutton may require a specific kind of application and/or combination sothat a safe override signal is not accidentally sent. There may be oneor more physical devices/structures (e.g. button cover, button lock)that prevent one from accidentally pressing the button.

The illustrated not-safe button 560 allows a user to send an alertoverride signal to the system control module and/or the smartphoneapplication and may be used by the driver to override a false safestatus. The not-safe button is functionally coupled to a hardware and/orsoftware device that automatically generates and transmits an alertoverride signal. The not-safe button may require a specific kind ofapplication and/or combination so that an alert override signal is notaccidentally sent. There may be one or more physical devices/structures(e.g. button cover, button lock) that prevent one from accidentallypressing the button.

The illustrated speaker 520 and microphone 570 are functionally coupledto each other and to a communication device within the key-fob such thattwo-way communication and audio signals may be sent/received andproduced locally, thereby enabling warning noise and intercom featuresthereof.

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of a seat pad, according to oneembodiment of the invention. There is shown an electronic seat pad 440having a communication and control device 630, a sensor 610, and anelectronically activated cooling device 640, all disposed on a thin padof flexible material 620.

The illustrated communication and control device 630 includes hardwarecircuitry for wireless and/or wired communication within the electronicseat pad and to one or more components of the described system and thatprovides control of the operation of the seat pad. There may beoperating software resident therein which also facilitates the same.There may be one or more transponders, emitters, buses, processors, datastorage devices, and the like a combinations thereof.

The illustrated sensor 610 detects information related to the presenceor absence of an occupant of the vehicle. Such may be as simple as apressure transducer that provides a signal based on pressure experiencedby the sensor, thereby determining if there is a weight (i.e. theoccupant of the car seat) on the sensor or not. It may be morecomplicated, as an array of sensors of varying types (e.g. IR,temperature, CO2, pressure, sound) that are automatically analyzedtogether and/or in conjunction with other sensor data to determine thepresence, condition, state, and, etc. of the occupant and the vehicleitself.

The illustrated electronically activated cooling device 640 producestemperature reduction in the area immediately surrounding itself withactivated by the communication and control module 630. The device may beelectrically powered and/or chemically powered (or powered in some othermanner). As a non-limiting example, there may be a battery coupled to athermoelectric plate with the cooling side of the plate facing theexpected location of an infant (i.e. facing upwards) such that the platecools the bottom of the child while sending heat into the car seat. Inanother non-limiting example, the device is an instant cold pack that iselectronically activated such that when activated a barrier between theactivating chemicals (often water and ammonium nitrate, calcium ammoniumnitrate, or urea) is automaticallyremoved/perforated/punctured/broken/torn/cut by a device (e.g. servooperated cutting/puncturing tool) so that the materials may mix andproduce an endothermic reaction, thereby absorbing heat from theimmediate environment.

In another embodiment, there may be a device for protecting an occupantof a vehicle, that may include one or more of: an occupant detectionsensor that detects the presence of an occupant; a key proximitydetection sensor that detects the proximity of a vehicle key; acommunication device that communicates with a portable electronic deviceof a driver of the vehicle; an alert determination module thatdetermines if an alert status is present based on whether or not thereis an occupant present and whether either of the vehicle key or theportable electronic device of the driver of the vehicle are present;and/or an alert action device that automatically activates if an alertstatus is present.

It may be that the alert action device is selected from the group ofdevices consisting of: an electronically activated cooling device, andan alarm sounding device.

FIGS. 7-10 together illustrate a state logic diagram showingdetermination of safe/alert states, according to one embodiment of theinvention. There is shown a smart phone based data collection source710, a user fob data collection source 720, a baby sensor datacollection source 730, a driver sensor data collection source 740 all incommunication with a smartphone application 750. There is also shown asmartphone geographic location application 760 in communication with acloud server 770.

The illustrated smart phone source 710 provides data to the systemregarding the location of the smartphone device with respect to thevehicle and/or electronic seat pad and also provides a user interfaceover which a user thereof may receive and send various signals relatingto operation of the system, such as but not limited to sending or more“safe” signals, override signals, and/or receiving alarms and statenotifications/messages. The smartphone source includes a smartphoneapplication which may receive information, transmit information,pass-along information and/or analyze information from one or morecomponents of the system.

The illustrated user fob source 720 provides information to the systemregarding the location of the fob device with respect to the vehicleand/or electronic seat pad and also provides a user interface over whicha user thereof may receive and send various signals relating tooperation of the system, such as but not limited to sending or more“safe” signals, override signals, and/or receiving alarms and statenotifications/messages.

The illustrated baby sensor source 730 provides information to thesystem regarding whether or not the vehicle is occupied by a child (orother occupant whose safety is of particular concern to the system) ornot. It may also serve as a “center point” for measuring the location ofone or more of a smartphone device and/or a key-fob device.

The illustrated driver sensor source 740 provides information to thesystem regarding whether or not the vehicle is occupied by a driver ornot. It may also serve as a “center point” for measuring the location ofone or more of a smartphone device and/or a key-fob device.

The illustrated smartphone application 750 may include one or moreportions of a system management module (which may be distributed over aplurality of devices, e.g. a smartphone and a remote server, with somefunctionality being redundant for safety purposes) operating on acomputing device having a processor and network communication hardwarein communication with the communication system over a computerizednetwork. The illustrated smartphone application receives data collectedfrom each of the electronic seat pad (may be a component of the babysensors), the driver sensor control module (may be a component of thedriver sensor source), and the key-location sensor (may be a componentof the user fob source). The smartphone application includesinstructions for determining an alert status using the processor basedon data collected from each of the electronic seat pad, the driversensor control module, and the key-location sensor, and instructions forsending alert notifications and safety notifications to the first remotenotification device over the computerized network via the communicationhardware based on the alert status.

The illustrated smartphone geographic location application 760 forwardssafe/not-safe signals from the smartphone application to a cloud server770. Safe notifications include a periodic update on last known locationfor the smartphone device and/or the vehicle. Not-safe notifications mayinclude similar or identical information. Information relating toloss-of signal between any of the components and each other and/or thelocal units and the cloud server are also transmitted as/when able. Thesystem automatically records information, especially geographicinformation related to signal loss. The system automatically recordsinformation related to safe/not-safe override signals sent by the driverand/or other users and appends them to a user specific library which maybe fed to the state library, to an AI system, or manually examined toupgrade the state library and/or other functional/analytical aspects ofthe system for the particular user and/or for other users.

The illustrated cloud server 770 receives, stores, analyzes, and managesdata from the local units and sends alert/safety messages to remotenotification devices as needed. The cloud server stores historical usageinformation and data points, and especially links the same with overrideinformation so that patterns of use can be analyzed to improve/customizethe system for particular users and/or sets of users (e.g. all users ina particular city where signal is consistently lost while drivingthrough a particular tunnel). The cloud server sends a cascade ofnotifications to various remote notification devices according to apredefined scripts. A non-limiting exemplary script is as follows:

First notification: driver smartphone application

Second notification: secondary smartphone application (e.g. spouse notcurrently driving)

Tertiary notification: simultaneous notification by email of all userson the account

Final notification: emergency services (e.g. police, ambulance)

FIG. 11 is a state chart of a system for protecting occupants of avehicle, according to one embodiment of the invention. The first columnidentifies various states as indicated by received data. The secondcolumn is marked if that state causes the system to arm itself, therebyactivating and allowing for the various alarm or alarm off states. Thethird column indicates if the state triggers an alarm. The fourth columnidentifies if the state causes an alarm to turn off.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram 900 showing a method of protecting an occupantof a vehicle, according to one embodiment of the invention. There isshown a step of receiving data 910 followed by determining an alertstatus 920 followed by a step of transmitting 930 an alert notificationor a safety notification followed by a step of activating an alertmessage on a notification device 940.

The step of receiving data 910 may include one or more of: receivingoccupancy data from an electronic seat pad present within the vehicle;receiving first proximity data from a driver sensor control module thatdetects whether a portable electronic device of a driver of the vehicleis present with the vehicle or not; receiving second proximity data froma key-location sensor that detects whether keys of the vehicle arepresent with the vehicle or not; receiving additional data from one ormore additional sensors; receiving geographic data relating to alocation of a vehicle; receiving demographic data relating to anoccupant and/or driver, receiving condition data relating to an occupantand/or a driver; and the like and combinations thereof. The data may bereceived over a computerized network. The data may be stored in a datastorage device. The data may be converted, collated, recorded,structured, or otherwise manipulated to a suitable form for analysis.

The step of determining an alert status 920 may be accomplished byoperation of a processer based on occupancy data, first proximity data,second proximity data, and/or any other data received. The alert statusmay be determined by consulting one or more records of a state libraryand/or following one or more portions of programmable logic that arepredefined to produce alert and/or safety states.

It may be that the step of determining an alert status using theprocessor based on data collected from each of the electronic seat pad,the driver sensor control module, and the key-location sensor is basedon instructions for generating an alert notification in each of thefollowing cases wherein the data infers that the:

-   -   a. occupant is present, the keys are not present, and the        driver's portable electronic device is not present;    -   b. occupant is present, the keys are present, and the driver's        portable electronic device is not present; and    -   c. occupant is present, the keys are not present, and the        driver's portable electronic device is present.

The step of transmitting 930 may include automatically transmitting anelectronic message of an alert status to one or more remote notificationdevices, either together or in series in time, the electronic messagemay either including an alert notification or a safety notification (orsome other combination of message types designed to provide informationabout the safety of the occupant).

The step of activating 940 may include automatically activating an alertmessage on the remote notification device in response to an alertnotification and/or automatically activating an alert message on theremote notification device in response to a lack of safetynotifications.

Other steps may include: automatically transmitting an electronicmessage of the alert status to a second remote device if no response isreceived from the first remote device; automatically activating anelectronically activated cooling device within the vehicle in responseto either an alert notification or a lack of safety notifications;updating instructions for determining an alert status based on customalert status instructions customized for a location of the vehicle;updating instructions for determining an alert status based on customalert status instructions customized for a demographic characteristic ofa driver of the vehicle; updating instructions for determining an alertstatus based on custom alert status instructions customized for ademographic characteristic of the occupant, and/or automaticallytracking a last known location of the vehicle and automaticallytransmitting the last known location of the vehicle in association withan alert notification.

It is understood that the above-described embodiments are onlyillustrative of the application of the principles of the presentinvention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific formswithout departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Thedescribed embodiment is to be considered in all respects only asillustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is,therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription. All changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

For example, although the illustrated seat pad is portable, it may beintegral to the seat, there may be multiple pads, the pressure sensormay be a flexible pressure sensor, the seat pad may be water-proof (e.g.silicon and other elastomerics). In another non-limiting embodiment,there is a flex sensor that senses a change in impedance/resistanceanywhere along the length of the sensor due to minuteflex/position/shape changes, including those of a sleeping baby (e.g. agoniometer or flexible potentiometer). Thus, if the sensorimpedance/resistance changes and continues to change, there is a movingobject on the pad. If the impedance/resistance changes, but does NOTcontinue to change, then an inanimate object has been placed in theseat, ie a grocery bag. If the impedance/resistance does not change orchanges very slowly then there in nothing on the seat. Therefore, theseat pad has simple change logic built into the communication, whereinmultiple changes over time=communicate as occupied, single change orslow change=communicate as not occupied. There may also be a flex sensorin a seatbelt of a driver within the vehicle that provides informationto the system relative to whether the driver is in the car or not.

Further, with respect to the key fob, for cars with keyless operation,it might not be keys that are attached (it would be whateverdevice/token/etc. is needed for operation of the vehicle. The key fobmay include on/off buttons and/or blue-tooth communication capabilities.The key fob may be shaped as a card. There may be a button to set offalarm of the car and/or lock/unlock car. The fob may include an intercomto speak to someone in the car. The fob may be an implant or some othertoken for the ODB communication system of the car.

Still more, the smart-phone application may be resident on a tablet, pc,or other computing device. There may be multiple applications workingtogether instead of a single application. There may be one or moreaccounts on such for multiple users and there may be a tiered-usersystem where a master account grants permissions and sets settings forsub-accounts. There may be an intercom from the phone to a speaker incar.

Thus, while the present invention has been fully described above withparticularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed tobe the most practical and preferred embodiment of the invention, it willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerousmodifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size,materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly anduse may be made, without departing from the principles and concepts ofthe invention as set forth in the claims. Further, it is contemplatedthat an embodiment may be limited to consist of or to consistessentially of one or more of the features, functions, structures,methods described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for protecting a vehicle occupant over acomputerized network, comprising: a. an electronic seat pad including anoccupant sensor that collects data related to the presence of anoccupant within the vehicle; b. a driver sensor control module thatcollects data related to the position of a driver's portable electroniccomputing device relative to the vehicle; c. a key-location sensor thatcollects data related to the position of a driver's keys relative to thevehicle; d. a first remote notification device that receives alertstatus notifications and that issues an alert if it receives an alertnotification and issues an alert if it does not receive an expectedthreshold of safety notifications; e. a communication system incommunication with each of the electronic seat pad, the driver sensorcontrol module, and the key-location sensor that receives and transmitscollected data from each thereof; and f. a system management moduleoperating on a computing device having a processor and networkcommunication hardware in communication with the communication systemover the computerized network that receives data collected from each ofthe electronic seat pad, the driver sensor control module, and thekey-location sensor, including: i. instructions for determining an alertstatus using the processor based on data collected from each of theelectronic seat pad, the driver sensor control module, and thekey-location sensor; and ii. instructions for sending alertnotifications and safety notifications to the first remote notificationdevice over the computerized network via the communication hardwarebased on the alert status.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the remotenotification device is a smartphone that includes the driver sensorcontrol module.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic seatpad further includes an electronically activated cooling device incommunication with the system management module.
 4. The system of claim1, wherein the key-location sensor is housed within a key-fob to whichkeys are attached.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the key-fobincludes a microphone functionally coupled to a speaker in the vehiclesuch that a user of the key-fob can send a verbal message to an interiorof the vehicle.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a statelibrary in communication with a logic subscription module whereinupdated alert conditions are automatically provided over time such thatthe instructions for determining an alert status may change over time.7. The system of claim 1, wherein the driver sensor control moduledetermines proximity to the vehicle by whether or not a limited rangewireless connection to an electronic device associated with the vehicleis active or not active.
 8. The system of claim 1, further comprising asecond remote notification device and wherein the system managementmodule includes instructions for notifying the second remotenotification device if no response is received from the first remotenotification device in response to an alert notification.
 9. The systemof claim 1, wherein the key-location sensor determines proximity to thevehicle by whether or not a limited range wireless connection to anelectronic device associated with the vehicle is active or not active.10. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions for determining analert status using the processor based on data collected from each ofthe electronic seat pad, the driver sensor control module, and thekey-location sensor include instructions for generating an alertnotification in each of the following cases wherein the data infers thatthe: a. occupant is present, the keys are not present, and the driver'sportable electronic device is not present; b. occupant is present, thekeys are present, and the driver's portable electronic device is notpresent; and c. occupant is present, the keys are not present, and thedriver's portable electronic device is present.
 11. A method ofprotecting an occupant of a vehicle using a computing system over acomputerized network, comprising the steps of: a. receiving occupancydata from an electronic seat pad present within the vehicle; b.receiving first proximity data from a driver sensor control module thatdetects whether a portable electronic device of a driver of the vehicleis present with the vehicle or not; c. receiving second proximity datafrom a key-location sensor that detects whether keys of the vehicle arepresent with the vehicle or not; d. determining an alert status based onoccupancy data, first proximity data, and second proximity data using aprocessor of the computing system; e. automatically transmitting anelectronic message of the alert status to a first remote notificationdevice, the electronic message either including an alert notification ora safety notification; f. automatically activating an alert message onthe remote notification device in response to an alert notification; andg. automatically activating an alert message on the remote notificationdevice in response to a lack of safety notifications.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising the step of automatically transmitting anelectronic message of the alert status to a second remote device if noresponse is received from the first remote device.
 13. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the step of determining an alert status using theprocessor based on data collected from each of the electronic seat pad,the driver sensor control module, and the key-location sensor is basedon instructions for generating an alert notification in each of thefollowing cases wherein the data infers that the: a. occupant ispresent, the keys are not present, and the driver's portable electronicdevice is not present; b. occupant is present, the keys are present, andthe driver's portable electronic device is not present; and c. occupantis present, the keys are not present, and the driver's portableelectronic device is present.
 14. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising the step of automatically activating an electronicallyactivated cooling device within the vehicle in response to either analert notification or a lack of safety notifications.
 15. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising the step of updating instructions fordetermining an alert status based on custom alert status instructionscustomized for a location of the vehicle.
 16. The method of claim 11,further comprising the step of updating instructions for determining analert status based on custom alert status instructions customized for ademographic characteristic of a driver of the vehicle.
 17. The method ofclaim 11, further comprising the step of updating instructions fordetermining an alert status based on custom alert status instructionscustomized for a demographic characteristic of the occupant.
 18. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising the step of automaticallytracking a last known location of the vehicle and automaticallytransmitting the last known location of the vehicle in association withan alert notification.
 19. A device for protecting an occupant of avehicle, comprising: a. an occupant detection sensor that detects thepresence of an occupant; b. a key proximity detection sensor thatdetects the proximity of a vehicle key; c. a communication device thatcommunicates with a portable electronic device of a driver of thevehicle; d. an alert determination module that determines if an alertstatus is present based on whether or not there is an occupant presentand whether either of the vehicle key or the portable electronic deviceof the driver of the vehicle are present; and e. an alert action devicethat automatically activates if an alert status is present.
 20. Thedevice of claim 19, wherein the alert action device is selected from thegroup of devices consisting of: an electronically activated coolingdevice, and an alarm sounding device.